Apple has begun placing orders for a new, larger screen that will measure at least four inches diagonally, according to a new report.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the next iPhone is "expected" to feature a screen larger than the 3.5-inch display that has been found on the iPhone since it first launched in 2007. Production of the screens is reportedly set to begin in the next few months, and it will measure "at least 4 inches diagonally."

Apple is said to be working with a number of screen manufacturers for the larger display on the next iPhone, including LG Display, Sharp, and a new company, Japan Display Inc., that was created last month by three Japanese companies and the government. Wednesday's report made no mention of Samsung as a display partner.

Rumors have suggested for some time that the next iPhone will be a major redesign, overhauling the look of the handset that has remained since the launch of the iPhone 4 in mid-2010. A larger screen would be a major change for the device, and could require developers to update their applications to take advantage of the larger display.

Apple's rumored shift comes as competitors continue to offer smartphones with larger screens. In particular, the Samsung Galaxy S II, which features a 4.8-inch display, is the new flagship device for the company.

Samsung's Galaxy Note also features a massive 5.3-inch stylus-driven display that the company has advertised offers both the best of a smartphone and of a tablet. The device was cited by the company in its quarterly earnings in April as a strong seller.

Mockup of a sixth-gen iPhone with a taller 4-inch screen, viaMacRumors.

As rumors of an iPhone with a larger screen have continued to crop up, various renderings have been put together online by enthusiasts who have speculated that a larger screen would result in a slightly taller iPhone adding more pixels to the top and bottom of the screen. One report from earlier this month claimed the next iPhone will be the same width as the current iPhone 4S, meaning the new screen would have a different aspect ratio than previous generation models.

With a 4-inch display, the iOS home screen could theoretically fit another row of icons on the home screen, bringing the total number to six. Applications written for the iPhone 4S and earlier handsets could simply feature black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, using the same aspect ratio and screen space as it would on the earlier devices.

The current 3.5" screen is WAAAYYY too tiny, and apple has been shown the way forward by Android manufacturers who are reducing bezels and wasted space on the faces of their phones to give consumers what they want.....bigger screens.

Its about time the iphone gets a screen that is a more usable size

Interesting situation though, that will now leave developers with the following

3.5" iphone (still in use)

3.5" iphone 3g (still in use)

3.5" iphone 3gs (still on sale and in use, and quite a bargain at 1 cent :)

3.5" iphone 4 retina a4 (still on sale and in use)

3.5" iphone 4s retina a5 (still in sale and in use)

4" iphone 5 retina a5x (if rumours are true)

That is 2 screen sizes, three resolutions, 6 processors, not sure how many diff GPUs, 2 varying RAM capacities (3 if they put a gig in the iphone 5).

Seems like the work for developers just keeps increasing. Although it is nowhere NEAR as bad as the android situation. Don't wanna use the f word but..........

For continuity sake Apple may very well ditch the 4" and stay at 3.5. Hope not though.

With a 4-inch display, the iOS home screen could theoretically fit another row of icons on the home screen, bringing the total number to six. Applications written for the iPhone 4S and earlier handsets could simply feature black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, using the same aspect ratio and screen space as it would on the earlier devices.

What a stupid idea. They're not going to release a new format simply to add a row of icons. If Apple releases a 4" phone, they will almost certainly keep the same resolution and screen ratio as the 4S.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepy3

WELL DUH!!!!!!

The current 3.5" screen is WAAAYYY too tiny, and apple has been shown the way forward by Android manufacturers who are reducing bezels and wasted space on the faces of their phones to give consumers what they want.....bigger screens.

Yeah. That's why no one buys the 3.5" iPhone. /s

Is it possible that Apple will release a 4" phone? Sure - maybe even likely. But the difference between 3.5" and 4" is insignificant for most people. The physical dimensions of the phone are more important. If they could put an even larger screen into the phone without changing the phone's dimensions, that would be OK with most people (but not likely, of course). Heck, a lot of people wouldn't even notice the difference unless you have the phones right next to each other. The key is to not release a monstrosity like a 5.3" phone with a stylus and which requires two hands.

"I'm way over my head when it comes to technical issues like this"Gatorguy 5/31/13

If a 4" screen were to be true (and I can see this being perfectly possible), then perhaps we will at some point get a smaller iPhone to please the moaners who will undoubtedly say 4" is too large. 3" same aspect? Maybe.

The current 3.5" screen is WAAAYYY too tiny, and apple has been shown the way forward by Android manufacturers who are reducing bezels and wasted space on the faces of their phones to give consumers what they want.....bigger screens.

Its about time the iphone gets a screen that is a more usable size

Interesting situation though, that will now leave developers with the following

3.5" iphone (still in use)

3.5" iphone 3g (still in use)

3.5" iphone 3gs (still on sale and in use, and quite a bargain at 1 cent :)

3.5" iphone 4 retina a4 (still on sale and in use)

3.5" iphone 4s retina a5 (still in sale and in use)

4" iphone 5 retina a5x (if rumours are true)

That is 2 screen sizes, three resolutions, 6 processors, not sure how many diff GPUs, 2 varying RAM capacities (3 if they put a gig in the iphone 5).

Seems like the work for developers just keeps increasing. Although it is nowhere NEAR as bad as the android situation. Don't wanna use the f word but..........

For continuity sake Apple may very well ditch the 4" and stay at 3.5. Hope not though.

Actually, you're only looking at 3 different processors on that list (The iPhone and iPhone 3G used identical processors, the 3GS used the same architecture, just a faster clock speed). The A5 and A5x are the same processor, different GPU. You do have 5 different GPU's (iPhone/iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, new iPhone), but that's the beauty of Apple's developer tools. It takes all of this into account when you're writing an app, so you don't have to basically write the app five different times like you would on Android. Write an app for the retina display, the iPhone will automatically downscale it for the non-Retina displays. Very little work compared to the competing platform.

P.S. And really, I know they are out there, but the number of original iPhones and even iPhone 3G's is very insignificant compared to iPhone 4's and 4S's, and even 3GS's, so as a developer, I wouldn't even worry about those devices, because they've long been unsupported and the user base is so small.

I find this, and it's sister rumor, the 7" iPad, just won't die, apparently. The most frequent specious arguments for it are along the lines of:

* everyone else is doing it

* Apple is losing (some unquantified number of) sales by not doing it

* the current size is too small|big for purpose x

* one size isn't right for everyone (whereas some other particular size apparently is right for, again, some unquantified number of people)

None of these are compelling reasons for Apple to produce the rumored sized devices and there are numerous downsides for developers, consumers and Apple to producing devices with larger|smaller|different sized|proportioned screens. By their own testimony, Apple put a lot of effort into determining the optimal size for these devices before they ever released them. It doesn't seem to make any sense that they would just toss that all out the window simply because someone else made a device a different size or because a handful of people clamor for larger|smaller devices, especially given the facts that 3.5" phones and 9.7" tablets are outselling the competition at any other specific size points by very wide margins.

... P.S. And really, I know they are out there, but the number of original iPhones and even iPhone 3G's is very insignificant compared to iPhone 4's and 4S's, and even 3GS's, so as a developer, I wouldn't even worry about those devices, because they've long been unsupported and the user base is so small.

Not only is the 3GS user base not particularly small, based on the number I see regularly in the wild, but it's incorrect to state that this device is unsupported since it continues to receive regular iOS updates. On the other hand, it doesn't require any significant effort by developers to "support" it, in addition to newer iPhones.

Don't you wonder why a touchscreen needs a bezel. This wasn't put in for nothing. When the touch location is the center of the finger it is approximately a circle with a 10mm diameter. This leaves some 3mm to each side of the finger without touch. This is almost exactly the width of the bezel of the iPhone (every single model!). Positioning your finger for tapping and selecting is easy on an iPhone and (much) less so on a lot of other touch phones.

Other phone builders can ape Apple, but I really don't think they give a second thought on essential details like these. Same with the distance from the Home button to the touch panel (3.5mm). If it were any smaller you could tap the screen by accident when aiming for the Home button.

That is 2 screen sizes, three resolutions, 6 processors, not sure how many diff GPUs, 2 varying RAM capacities (3 if they put a gig in the iphone 5).

Seems like the work for developers just keeps increasing. Although it is nowhere NEAR as bad as the android situation. Don't wanna use the f word but..........

For continuity sake Apple may very well ditch the 4" and stay at 3.5. Hope not though.

You don't seem to know what you are talking about.

- Well-written apps should not be coded to one specific screen size.

- The processor is completely irrelevant

- The GPU is completely irrelevant

- RAM capacity is slightly more of an issue, but again a combination of the OS itself and well-written apps can work around it (you do know ocmputers page memory out to disk, don't you?)

The issues you're complaining about are the ones plaguing Android, not iOS. An increased screen size may impact a few games and possibly other full-screen apps, but any app developer worth his salary should not be taking any notice of the screen dimensions or aspect ratio.

I believe they can increase the size of the screen area without increasing the size of the iPhone.

The processing and graphics power of the A5x chip should allow Apple to automatically map the pixel resolution of older iPhones to the new resolution -- similar to how the new iPad maps older iPhone resolutions.

One of the seldom-mentioned benefits of the new iPad is that the display of apps written for the original and later iPhones look beautiful -- there are no jagged edges, blocky fonts, etc.

This could mitigate any fragmentation because of screen size and display resolution of a new iPhone.

Dictated from my new iPad

"Swift generally gets you to the right way much quicker." - auxio -

"The perfect [birth]day -- A little playtime, a good poop, and a long nap." - Tomato Greeting Cards -

I think Apple will decide to go with a bigger screen - 4", or 4.2", or whatever. But, they will make sure that it fits comfortably in most hands, and is a pleasure to hold. I think the pixel density will remain the same as the current 3.5" retina display. Otherwise, they will not be able to call it a retina display. The current iPhone apps will continue to work in the central part of the display with a black border around the app. As time goes on, developers will update their apps to take advantage of the full screen (just as they did when the iPad first came out).

The bigger retina display will give users a reason to upgrade. I have an iPhone 4s. It is darn near perfect for me. But, a bigger retina display may make me want to upgrade.

I find this, and it's sister rumor, the 7" iPad, just won't die, apparently. The most frequent specious arguments for it are along the lines of:

* everyone else is doing it

* Apple is losing (some unquantified number of) sales by not doing it

* the current size is too small|big for purpose x

* one size isn't right for everyone (whereas some other particular size apparently is right for, again, some unquantified number of people)

None of these are compelling reasons for Apple to produce the rumored sized devices and there are numerous downsides for developers, consumers and Apple to producing devices with larger|smaller|different sized|proportioned screens. By their own testimony, Apple put a lot of effort into determining the optimal size for these devices before they ever released them. It doesn't seem to make any sense that they would just toss that all out the window simply because someone else made a device a different size or because a handful of people clamor for larger|smaller devices, especially given the facts that 3.5" phones and 9.7" tablets are outselling the competition at any other specific size points by very wide margins.

Personally I would love a slightly larger screen and 4" would be just right (for me) and cause little to no issue with developers. The top part of the phone could have a rear facing (channelled) speaker and shrunk to counteract (to an extent) the larger size screen, and an alternative to the 'home' button 'could' be found to further reduce it's physical impact.

I loved the old size and general design, but I think it's time for a little rethink, which I think is possible without too much disruption.

The current 3.5" screen is WAAAYYY too tiny, and apple has been shown the way forward by Android manufacturers who are reducing bezels and wasted space on the faces of their phones to give consumers what they want.....bigger screens.

Its about time the iphone gets a screen that is a more usable size

Interesting situation though, that will now leave developers with the following

3.5" iphone (still in use)

3.5" iphone 3g (still in use)

3.5" iphone 3gs (still on sale and in use, and quite a bargain at 1 cent :)

3.5" iphone 4 retina a4 (still on sale and in use)

3.5" iphone 4s retina a5 (still in sale and in use)

4" iphone 5 retina a5x (if rumours are true)

That is 2 screen sizes, three resolutions, 6 processors, not sure how many diff GPUs, 2 varying RAM capacities (3 if they put a gig in the iphone 5).

Seems like the work for developers just keeps increasing. Although it is nowhere NEAR as bad as the android situation. Don't wanna use the f word but..........

For continuity sake Apple may very well ditch the 4" and stay at 3.5. Hope not though.

---

iOS6 will probably kill of all iOS hardware below A class SoC. That would be great since all apps could be optimized with SIMD. If Apple does not EOL anything below A class, that is another evidence of a post Jobs Apple. Steve was obsessed with creating high "lowest" hardware.

BTW Don't forget the 7.85 inch iPad. That is another resolution that needs to be supported. Its a mess also for users. I have converted all my videos to iTunes format. Now some videos works on some iOS devices and not on other since Apple have poor scaling hardware.

This 4" screen thing still seems rather unlikely, but I would like some more screen space if Apple is able to make it work perfectly in all the areas people are concerned about. One thing is for sure, Apple will only do this if they have found a good solution to all concerns and see value in increasing the screen size.

Personally I would love a slightly larger screen and 4" would be just right (for me) and cause little to no issue with developers. The top part of the phone could have a rear facing (channelled) speaker and shrunk to counteract (to an extent) the larger size screen, and an alternative to the 'home' button 'could' be found to further reduce it's physical impact.

I loved the old size and general design, but I think it's time for a little rethink, which I think is possible without too much disruption.

But, you haven't made a compelling argument why a 4" screen would now be optimal. Your argument is essentially that you are one of an unquantified number who want a bigger screen because... apparently... the "old size" is "old".

It is certainly uglier, that's not debatable in my opinion, but you never can tell with Apple. Stranger things have happened.

Well since they've refined their design aesthetic to basically aluminum and glass how many bad designs have they produced? Most of these mockups are just plain ugly IMV. And I can't see any of them coming out of Apple's design shop.

When I first switched from a Nokia to iPhone over four years ago, I had trouble adjusting to the way I had to hold the iPhone when dialling b/c my thumbs could not reach over the entire number pad comfortably. If the screen gets even bigger, I might have to start holding it with two hands :(

The WSJ report is coinciding with the latest stupid theory making the rounds of techdom (that Apple Insider seems to have totally bought into), about the screen aspect ratio changing. There is nothing in the WSJ report that would support the currently nerd-popular idea of the extra row of icons on a screen with a differing aspect ratio. Neither rumour actually supports the other, but they are presented here as two pieces of the same puzzle.

All I can say is that if Apple really *is* changing the aspect ratio of the phone as well as making the screen bigger they will lose a lot of customers. The only improvement such a phone would have is that you wouldn't see the black bars when playing an HD movie on the phone. All other uses of the phone besides watching HD movies would be slightly compromised vs. the current generation screen. It's a stupid idea.

There are many millions of people with iPhones who do not watch movies on them at all. Just because a bunch of tech nerds figured out some cool math about aspect ratios, doesn't make it a good idea.

Also, the obvious points ... the rumour may or may not be true as WSJ has the same sources as every other tech blogger and the screen themselves might be for a third device (it's a logical flaw to assume that production of 4" screens == 4" screen for iPhone.)

But, you haven't made a compelling argument why a 4" screen would now be optimal. Your argument is essentially that you are one of an unquantified number who want a bigger screen because... apparently... the "old size" is "old".

Technology has progressed since the original iPhone. A 4" screen plus the innards of the time would have created a more bulky and expensive product.

Also 3.5" is as you put it "optimal", and I still believe 3.5" is "optimal" if you only sell one phone, which was great for 6 years.

But I think there are a growing number of people who would like a slightly bigger phone (myself included), and a growing number of people who would like a smaller phone.

Technology has progressed and innards shrunk for Apple to be capable of doing so. Plus with millions of iPhones now in the wild, I believe the market is large enough for a two pronged approach.

A 4" screen makes sense only if the aspect ratio stays the same, the number of pixels stays the same. Just the density of the pixels increases slightly. I certainly do not want the size of the phone to increase. The current size of the iPhone is perfect, fits in the pocket, and can be held easily without dropping. Size of the screen is good too. Why mess with success? The Samsung phones are too large and have too many software incompatibility issues. What I need in the new iPhone are:

1. NFC with tie-ups for payments like bank transactions, debit transactions, credit card purchases. Like extra security like with biometrics. Security is important.

2. Way to store Driver's Lic, Insurance info, licenses, etc with authentication so that they are legal documents. Like to get rid of the wallet, or reduce it to something minimal.

3. Hi quality camera and video recorder with zoom and good optics. Want to get rid of camera/video recorder too.

Apple will not change the aspect ratio. There is too much software out there designed for the existing ratio.

What is interesting, though, is that if the IPhone gets a bigger screen, the companion Touch will, too. If that happens, forget about a 7-inch iPad. Making a larger Touch, even just slightly larger, renders the smaller IPad pointless. For Apple there is more profit to be had from using similar tech in both its smartphone and its pocket computer. Far less effort to make that happen than to splinter off engineering talent to focus on a 7-inch device.

The iPhone/Touch going with a bit larger screen is simply the next logical step for these devices. It makes so much sense that I would classify it as a surprise if Apple went another route. I can't imagine anyone thinking it bad news that either device came with a bigger screen considering we're not talking about a size increase that would adversely impact ease of use.

Not only is the 3GS user base not particularly small, based on the number I see regularly in the wild, but it's incorrect to state that this device is unsupported since it continues to receive regular iOS updates. On the other hand, it doesn't require any significant effort by developers to "support" it, in addition to newer iPhones.

If you would actually read my post, I never said that the 3GS wasn't supported or had a small userbase, I said the original iPhone and iPhone 3G were. So thank you for agreeing with my post, ultimately.

When I first switched from a Nokia to iPhone over four years ago, I had trouble adjusting to the way I had to hold the iPhone when dialling b/c my thumbs could not reach over the entire number pad comfortably. If the screen gets even bigger, I might have to start holding it with two hands :(

You can't fool me. You are too busy with Piao de Maos to use an iPhone.

I can't see Apple building a bigger iPhone. Maybe a slightly smaller one, with the same screen size. My 4s is big enough, especially in a leather case; any bigger and it won't go in my pocket.

Or maybe if the aspect ratio and and number of pixels stays the same but with a lower density so the iPhone screen is bigger. I still don't think that'll happen though.

If the number of pixels is going to change I would bet on it being 1024 x 768 (but that's more likely in an iPad-mini which won't happen either imho)

Don't take this the wrong way but are you one of the little people? I'm just trying to imagine just how small your pockets are considering the current iPhone pushes right up to the limit of what you can fit in them.

To put this in perspective, increasing the screen to around the 4-inch range would involve increasing the height and width by less than a quarter of an inch. That would be immaterial in regards to how this device would feel in the hand and what pockets it would fit into. The current form factor is not cast in stone. Nothing in electronics ever really is.Edited by Carmissimo - 5/16/12 at 7:10am

What a stupid idea. They're not going to release a new format simply to add a row of icons. If Apple releases a 4" phone, they will almost certainly keep the same resolution and screen ratio as the 4S.
Yeah. That's why no one buys the 3.5" iPhone. /s
Is it possible that Apple will release a 4" phone? Sure - maybe even likely. But the difference between 3.5" and 4" is insignificant for most people. The physical dimensions of the phone are more important. If they could put an even larger screen into the phone without changing the phone's dimensions, that would be OK with most people (but not likely, of course). Heck, a lot of people wouldn't even notice the difference unless you have the phones right next to each other. The key is to not release a monstrosity like a 5.3" phone with a stylus and which requires two hands.

Talking out of your ass again I see.

I mean MY GOD. When Apple comes out with a 4 inch screen, you'll stop talking against it, and instead you'll be talking about how much of a genius Apple is for it. Oh and YES, going from 3.5 to 4 inches IS a big difference. Hell, I just went from 4 to 4.3 and I notice a difference.

Yes, the iPhone is selling at 3.5 just fine, but lots of people have said they would like bigger screens, so it will just sell EVEN BETTER. What's wrong with that?

I think Apple is going from selling a retina iPhone and a retina iPad to a range comprising a big top of the line retina iPhone (same res, same aspect ratio, just bigger) and a cheaper smaller iPhone with standard resolution like the 3S and, on the iPad side, a regular retina iPad and a smaller, cheaper, standard resolution iPad.

This will double their offer in the market, probably double their market share with these new economic products, and developers don't need to change a pixel in their apps, even if people will complain that they can't call it a retina display anymore if the screen grows to 4" (Apple will just say that that way you can hold it a bit further away -and it's true, everything will be a bit bigger there- and so it will still qualify).

Interesting situation though, that will now leave developers with the following

3.5" iphone (still in use)

3.5" iphone 3g (still in use)

3.5" iphone 3gs (still on sale and in use, and quite a bargain at 1 cent :)

3.5" iphone 4 retina a4 (still on sale and in use)

3.5" iphone 4s retina a5 (still in sale and in use)

4" iphone 6 retina a5x (if rumours are true)

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacBook Pro

Fixed that for you.

If the iPhone is WAAAYYY to small then an iPad or a 80" television should be about right.

Actually, considering the new iPad is simply called iPad, and not iPad 3 or iPad HD, I think it's very likely Apple will follow suit with the next iPhone by calling it iPhone, not iPhone 5 or iPhone 6.